** The thread for Rants & Odds and Sods **

[ChrisOntLancs]

really nice day today. i've got to go to the other side of manchester and i'd cycle it if i had a meal yesterday, rather than a long string of junk food. not sure i can cycle to the bus stop.

i'm not complaining because i'm too stupid to keep myself well fed, i'm complaining because i'm probably stupid enough to ignore this and cycle all the way there and back anyway. it's really nice.

[Cyril Haearn]

why can't the manufacturers of low end bikes list the weight?

i know it's going to be heavy, i just want to know how heavy! it's ok, if i wanted a light bike i'd probably be willing to pay the extra couple of hundred.

for £500 you should be able to make an informed decision.

and why do the people selling bikes that i like on this site have to be so tall?

Each generation is a little taller than the last (for how much longer?)

I am average height which is probably best but I would love to try being 200cm for a few weeks. Being taller surely has disadvantages too mind

[mercalia]

why can't the manufacturers of low end bikes list the weight?

i know it's going to be heavy, i just want to know how heavy! it's ok, if i wanted a light bike i'd probably be willing to pay the extra couple of hundred.

for £500 you should be able to make an informed decision.

and why do the people selling bikes that i like on this site have to be so tall?

Each generation is a little taller than the last (for how much longer?)

I am average height which is probably best but I would love to try being 200cm for a few weeks. Being taller surely has disadvantages too mind

not in buses or the tubes when they start/stop and you get thrown all around - the shorter the better?

[Cyril Haearn]

why can't the manufacturers of low end bikes list the weight?

i know it's going to be heavy, i just want to know how heavy! it's ok, if i wanted a light bike i'd probably be willing to pay the extra couple of hundred.

for £500 you should be able to make an informed decision.

and why do the people selling bikes that i like on this site have to be so tall?

Each generation is a little taller than the last (for how much longer?)

I am average height which is probably best but I would love to try being 200cm for a few weeks. Being taller surely has disadvantages too mind

not in buses or the tubes when they start/stop and you get thrown all around - the shorter the better?

Short and fat for protection if one is thrown against a hard object, best to wear a helmet too irony!

[Lance Dopestrong]

They don't list the weight because...

There's no standard frame size for quoting. Indeed, there's no universal measurement standard for sizing.

There's no physical standard. Some quote complete bikes, some without pedals, some without tyres.

That's nary a one of us who is whippet slim and perfectly athletic, and if you're genuinely worried about performance then a pound off the rider brings far more gains than a pound off the bike.

In fact, lardy middle aged people with lbs and lbs to spare who obsess over ounces on bikes is what grinds my gears.

[bovlomov]

In fact, lardy middle aged people with lbs and lbs to spare who obsess over ounces on bikes is what grinds my gears.

And if you value the health benefits of cycling, then a few ounces (on the bike, not around the middle*) means a better workout. Would a weightlifter boast about using lightweight alloy dumbbells?

*I've had a think about this. If you weigh more then you have to work harder to move the bike. So the more you eat the fitter you become.

[ChrisOntLancs]

second rant of the day so i went for the ride as its a 40 mile day but i fell off, knackered my knee and taken lots of skin off my arm. i'm typing with one hand so good luck reading!

re really good posts i agree with on weight, it's not so much about going faster, my legs cant tell the difference but overall 2kg is a lot after an hour on the bike. usually when it's listed the fact that it's even provided suggests they've made that a priority against the inevitable compromises of low end bikes and usually it's reliable enough to narrow down the bikes i want to try out.

In fact, lardy middle aged people with lbs and lbs to spare who obsess over ounces on bikes is what grinds my gears.

i weigh 60kg and i'm only 30! ....which... to be fair with some of the habits i've had... yeah i'll give you that one. third rant though... lance called me fat

[reohn2]

second rant of the day so i went for the ride as its a 40 mile day but i fell off, knackered my knee and taken lots of skin off my arm. i'm typing with one hand so good luck reading!

re really good posts i agree with on weight, it's not so much about going faster, my legs cant tell the difference but overall 2kg is a lot after an hour on the bike. usually when it's listed the fact that it's even provided suggests they've made that a priority against the inevitable compromises of low end bikes and usually it's reliable enough to narrow down the bikes i want to try out.

In fact, lardy middle aged people with lbs and lbs to spare who obsess over ounces on bikes is what grinds my gears.

i weigh 60kg and i'm only 30! ....which... to be fair with some of the habits i've had... yeah i'll give you that one. third rant though... lance called me fat

The weight thing is all to do with percentage to power, 2kg added to 60kg + 12kg rider/bike package is a lot more noticeable than 2kg added to an 85kg(me) + 12kg package.
That said when I'm fit and riding a 200 mile week regularly and around 80kg on the same bike I fly up hills

[ChrisOntLancs]

yeah that's it, it's basically two bags of potatoes, and i like to save that space for two bags of potatoes!

it's my fault for explaining badly. like i said it's a comfort thing more than speed. both do the same journey in a similar amount of time, i've just got two different tools now. i'm not one of those people that equates heavy with bad.

i love how you all responded to this and didn't bother asking about the worrying symptoms or the crash by the way!

[mercalia]

well I would like to have shares in this company - for the last 30 years no less than 9% return each year and in 2016 it was 17%. Which company was I thinking of? The CofE

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39993739

[ChrisOntLancs]

"stellar returns" well yeah, same for google and amazaon.... and to be honest when it comes to tax exemption on religious grounds i think google and amazon have a stronger case these days.

The Church's ethical investment policy dictates that all investments should be compatible with Christian values and "recommends against investment" in companies which make more than 3% of their income from pornography, 10% from military products and services, or 25% from other industries such as gambling, alcohol and high interest rate lenders.

i always imagined this policy would exist in some form or other, but seeing it in albeit paraphrased black and white makes me scoff a bit at finally knowing exactly how much filth and murder the church of england tolerates.

morality, capitalism, and organised religion.. a man of my irks should have a better accompanying rant really, sorry to let you down there merc.

[ChrisOntLancs]

i don't drink, and i have specific rules as to when i tell people. like this when it's relevant to a story, or when somebody has said for the third time "are you sure you don't want a proper drink", "nah mate, doesn't agree with me, i'll stick to pop and try not to be too boring *laughs*" but then i get this long spiel about how they have every right to drink. when it's just one person i have a problem with. if you're not chris, you can drink as much as you want, and even if you are there's a good chance you're a different chris.

i never once believed this, but such a backlash to my rather discreet non-drinking habit means that i actually am better than everybody who does drink, and i should let on more.

i don't think that.... but i'm probably going to let on more.

EDIT apparently written by a sober man.

[mercalia]

did Macron snub Trump?- watch the video: I think he did sort off: My impression is that he is an ignorant Frenchman who doesnt know on which side his bread is buttered, who thinks France is still an important country - maybe in the EU it is but not else where.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-40056443/did-french-president-snub-donald-trump-at-nato-summit

[ChrisOntLancs]

maybe it's not about france's importance but america's. how important are they with trump driving? they're having a domestic, better off out of it if you ask me

[ChrisOntLancs]

not long before he died, former frontman of the clash joe stummer headlined a benefit gig for the firefighter's union with his band the mescaleros. a bootleg of the set is available under the name 'action town hall' and it's probably my favourite live album, because during the first song of the encore 'bankrobber' the crowd erupts into an applause that drowns out the music. even if i didn't know better, that could only mean one thing - a former member of the clash has joined joe on stage, and upon hearing the signature pentatonic major licks it could only be mick jones. i get a bit emotional every time i hear it, because everybody in that room is witnessing a clash reunion, and it wouldn't have been for a huge pile of money like so many others.

just a bit of background there....

last night, at a benefit for manchester, everybody's least favourite gallagher took the stage and belted out some songs his brother wrote. man at least he turned up though. this says something really cynical about noel gallagher, to bow out of that, in such a way. it means that he's saving the reunion to cash in on it.

i'm not even that into oasis, but... if i was.... i dunno... it's just.... when the entire country is looking at you, what sort of artist, musician, manc deserts his post to leave a vacuum that is stalked by the most toxic threat to british culture as we know it?

you've got blood on your hands noel.